Opinion: Call For Prayer In Mourning And Guidance As Global Terrorism Massacres Christians And Friends

ABS Community Research is a nondenominational, secular nonprofit organization working with multiple secular, diverse, and faith based groups in the US and abroad on humanitarian aid and economic advancement programs. ABS is currently advocating for the refugee crisis in the Kurdish region of Iraq where a mosaic of peoples and religious groups are protected. In addition, ABS is advocating for health, water, and agriculture in the Catholic Diocese of Konongo-Mampong in Ghana, for joint Baptist Missions to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and beyond into West Africa, East Africa, and the Middle East.

ABS is gravely concerned at the escalating crisis of terrorist threats which merely bring greater loss and extensive need into those areas and the west, while threatening also the capabilities of foreign nonprofit organizations to safely and effectively operate abroad. However, we maintain committed to all of our projects, through risk mitigation and coordinated logistics in deployments.

Since advocating for the human rights atrocities and related issues in Iran, ABS has been observing widespread offenses under a new type of “Genocide.” Genocide is defined as “the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.” The 2009 uprising in Iran brought to light the ongoing and now growing political imprisonment of Iranians, many who are political prisoners, and many others who are also considered Iranian cultural and religious “minorities” such as Kurds, Baloch, Azeri, Bahaii, Sunni, and Christian. Given the diversity of political prisoners, who are brutally tortured, and many murdered, “genocide” in Iran may be defined as against any cultural or religious group that does not adhere to the ruling Shia under principles of Islamic extremism and support for terrorism, regardless of whether or not Shia is the statistical majority religion in Iran.

Today, this broad sweeping form of genocide continues and grows in Iran, but is committed also by ISIS, and al Qaeda affiliates in East and West Africa. In this time of incessant warfare, anyone who is not an Islamic extremist, or who does not enable or otherwise empower Islamic terrorism is subject to being massacred, and having all physical remnants and temples of their faith completely destroyed.

Here are just a few examples…

As reported in BBC, Christians in areas in Syria seized by ISIS have been ordered to convert to Islam or face death. Hundreds of Christians and Senior Clerics have been kidnapped. Simultaneously, many Syrian Christians have been fighting alongside varied military units, such as Kurds and secular rebels. (above image: Aleppo)

As reported in Jerusalem Post, multiple Churches and ancient religious artifacts across Iraq have been, and continue to be destroyed. The Cross has been replaced with the black flag of the Islamic State. ISIS believes that Christian relics represent a polytheistic and idolatrous religion, and are an assault on Islam.(image at right: Iraq)

July 2014, in the early months of ISIS onslaught of violence in Iraq, initiating mass displacement that hit Iraq soon after the US withdrawal, Archbishop Amel Nona, the Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul was quoted by Catholic News Agency as saying “My diocese no longer exists. ISIS have taken it from me.” An estimated 450,000 people have fled Mosul, and most have taken refuge in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

As reported by Newsweek, the 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians beheaded in Libya by ISIS in February 2015 were recognized across Egypt. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-¬Sisi is building a new church for relatives in a village, calling it “The Church of the Martyrs.” According to the report, Bishop Feloubes Fauzy lost his nephew and four cousins, saying: “I am happy for my relatives. They had faith in God. They had faith in Jesus Christ. And that is what matters…They died for their faith. They died for Christianity." (image at right)

More recently, 147 people were killed and 79 wounded at Garissa University College campus in Kenya outside of Nairobi. According to multiple reports, the al-Shabab militants strategically questioned each individual on their faith, and killed those admitting they were Christian. Al-Shabab is predominantly Somali and affiliated to al Qaeda. Just last weekend, ISIS massacred approximately 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya. The masked murderers threatened these East African Christians with death if they did not convert to Islam.

On the opposite side of the continent, massacres against Christians are not foreign to Nigeria. According to CNSNews, by the first half of 2014 Boko Haram and other groups killed 1,631 Christians. In 2013, a total of 1,783 Nigerian Christians were killed. Boko Haram recently pledged allegiance with ISIS. But how many Christians were killed by the end of 2014? How many more have been murdered as of today?

This past week in France, a terror attack against one or more Churches was foiled in Paris, and the terror suspect taken into custody. And in Italy, an extensive investigation on terror threats against the Vatican, involving Osama bin Laden’s bodyguards came to fruition when terror raids targeted 18 people with suspected links to al Qaeda. At home in the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) continues investigating ISIS suspects in all 50 states, and has successfully begun bringing suspects to justice, including women that have been recruited into homegrown terrorism. The threats of attacks around the world are hitting home. There is a startling silence as questions remain, and lack of US intervention grows, while our closest allies are struggling to regain some sense of peace without us. The United States is no longer recognizable in the world, which is to global detriment, in as much as to our own.

On a personal note, I understand from many that there are Biblical prophecies suggesting that the above types of incidents are signs that the End is near. But, I do not believe that Now is the Time for the end. The international community has too much to offer in bringing Restoration of Peace. The Egyptian government has done a tremendous job of rooting out homegrown terror and forging alliances such as for Sinai. The Kurdish military Peshmerga are a consistent arm of strength and sanctity in Iraq and Syria. The Jordanian military has stepped up with great feat following the horrific death of their Air Force pilot. The Kenyan government swiftly acted on al Shabab. European nations are doing everything in their power to protect themselves in the growing local siege, while also field assistance to allies. What’s grossly missing from this equation, for the first time in decades, is the United States. But the American people are not far behind.

If you are a Religious Leader, please, at minimum, call for prayer in Mourning and Guidance when these massacres occur, in recognition of the brave people who do not cower and hide their faith or their culture when faced with death. It is their brave souls that give us all freedom, and which we should uphold for Peace.

If you are a Religious Leader, a Member of any Faith, or have thoughts for a Moment of Silence, and would like to make your prayer public, please feel free to contact me, and I will post your prayer on the ABS website. If we receive multiple requests, another newsletter will be sent out, sharing those thoughts and prayers.